Machine for wetting and cutting paper for printing-presses



' UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIcE.

M. S. BEACH, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

MACHINE FOR WETTING AND CUTTING PAPER FOR PRINTING-PRESSES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 18,032, dated August 25, 1857; Reissued November 15, 1857, No. 852.

To all 'whom t may concern a Be it known that I, MOSES S. BEACH, o the city of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings, in the State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Mode of fett-ing and Cutting Paper' for Printing-Presses; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

The object of this invention is to take paper from an endless sheet or reel, wet or moisten it suitably for purposes of printing, cut it off in sheets of any desired size, and deliver them to the impression cylinder of the printing press without the intervention of hand labor. It may be applied however to other purposes where moistening and cutting into sheets are desirable.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a' vert-ical sectional view through the red line X X Fig. 2, and Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view through the red lines Y Y Fig. 1.

A is a reel, from whence the paper (shown by red line) is taken, and after passing through the guide B, is moistened by pressure between -the cloth covered cylinders C D, they deriving moisture from contact with the rollers E F-also cloth covered-which are partially immersed in the water tanks Gr I-I. y In cylinder C are two movable sawedged knives a b fixed to the knife bars c d, which when released from the catches e f, operating upon the ends of the bars, are projected beyond the cylinder by t-he spiral springs g. The pins I, fixed to the side frames J release the knives a Z), at every revolution of the cylinder C, by tripping the ends of the catches e f, and the knives enter the grooves z' made in cylinder D to receive them, cutting the paper, which is pressed between the cylinders, as they enter. The sheet of paper thus cut off is carried out of the machine by tapes K on the rollers L M upon which it falls after being cut; the rollers being driven by a belt N over the band wheels O P (represented by dotted lines in Fig. 1)-band wheel O being connected with shaft of cylinder C and band wheel P with shaft of roller M-and passes off under the small friction roller Q. The knives a b are (then returned within the cylinder O by the pressure Aof the ends of the knife bars c d on cams R (which are fixed to the side frames J) as the cylinder revolves, as shown by red lines in Fig. 1. Then the knife bars c (l have been thus pressed in far enough, the

catches e f are thrown over them by the action of the springs j, and so held until again released by the pins I.

The moisture imparted to the cylinders O D is regulated by set screws S in the standards 7a, acting upon t-he bearings T of rollers 65 E F (which bearings, with those (U) of cylinder D, slide in grooves Z in the side frames J) the pressure forcing all surplus water back into the tanks.

The mot-ive power for the machine is comniunicated to the shaft of cylinder C by the handle V on band wheel O; t-he cylinders C D being geared together by the cog wheels I/V.

In some cases it would be desirable to lessen the moisture still more than is here provided for. This may be done by the' introduction of one or more additional rollers between the cylinders C D and the rollers E F. Shouldl the dullness of the knives,

or a freer working of the cylinders render a more firm holding of the paper while being cut, necessary, it may be effected by pressure bars placed each side of the knives on cylinder O or each side of the grooves on cylinder D, and pressed firmly against the opposite cylinder by springs; or by placing india rubber or other elastic substance at the points indicated for pressure bars.

In operation connected wit-h a print-ing the drop roller or fingers grasp it, so that if any of the fibers of the paper remain un-cut,

they may be torn or broken asunder by the y increased motion of the sheet in its passage to the press. Ordinarily but a single knife would be required on cylinder O. Two arel05 represented here to reduce the sheet to a size easily shown. More than two can be used if desired.

Wet-ting paper with size and for other purposes, has hitherto been done by first As the impres- 95 passing it from the reel directly into the tank and throwing off the surplus moisture by pressure between rollers. This process is not adapted to printing purposes because the saturation is too great. On the other hand, imparting merely the required amount of moisture to one side of the paper only, leaving the other side dry, presents another difiiculty in the time required for the moisture to penetrate from one side to the other. rIhis time is found to be from one to four minutes, while in rapid printing one or two seconds only can conveniently be allowed. Both these difficulties are obviated by my invention by which both sides of the paper are moistened simultaneously. This being done it is only necessary to impart as much moisture as can be absorbed before the printing commences, and the paper is left more firm; its texture is injured less, and the ink dries into it more speedily. The advantage is still more apparent when the paper is to receive its impression on both sides by the same operation, as provided for in the improvements in printing presses for which patents were granted to me Dec. 2nd and 23rd last. The cutting of wet or moist paper, as is well known, is also attended with difficulty as well from the increased flexibility of the paper as from the moisture acting as a lubricator upon it. F or printing purposes, moreover, it is not necessary that the sheet should be lnoistened quite to the edge, and I have provided for the difficulty by leaving the margin of the sheet, at the point where it is cut off the reel, dry, by means of the grooves in the wetting cylinder. Thus while all necessary moisture is aorded, the operation of the knife is in no wise obstructed.

Cutting paper with saw-edged knives was extensively practiced in paper mills twenty five or thirty years since, the paper being at rest and the knife connected with the frame of the machine and projected by a cam. Revolving straight-edged knives have also been and still are generally used. These two processes were combined by Victor Beaumont to whom a patent was granted September 6th 1853. He projected the knife by means of a lever and cam. I have applied the saw edged knife to a cylinder, but project it by springs, by which a sharp and quick-almost instantaneous-motion is obtained; a motion better adapted to severing paper than the slower one by cam and lever.

The special advantage of combining the wet-ting and cutting processes on the same cylinder, as herein described, is in preventing any variation of the sheet on its way to the press. Passing it through wetting rolls or cylinders first, and then through those for cutting, affords opportunity for slight variations which it would be difficult, if not impossible, to counteract; while if the paper were wet first and then cut, it would be still more difficult to keep the sheets in the unvarying line of motion requisite for printing. I do not therefore claim, broadly, the wet-ting of paper by means of wet or moistened rollers applied to one side of the paper and not to the other, neither do I claim, broadly, the cutting of paper by means of a saw edged knife, whether the knife be attached to a stationary frame or to a cylinder, and Whether projected against the paper by means of cam and lever or springs, but

l/Vhat I do claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. Simultaneously wetting or moistening both sides of the paper in the manner substantially as described.

Leaving the paper dry at the point on line of cutting, substantially as described.

3. Catching the knife when retired within the circumference of the cylinder, retaining it while so retired, and releasing it for the operation of cutting by means of the catches c, f, the springs z', and the tripping pins I in the manner substantially as described.

t. Combining the cutting apparatus With the wetting cylinders or rolls substantially as described.

M. S. BEACH. Witnesses.:

I. G. COOPER, Nv O. GHRHAM.

[FIRST PRINTED 1912.1 

